Short Takes

They'll claim this sucker got released on DVD because it's by Abel Ferrara, the director of such gritty, urban flicks as Bad Lieutenant and the CineSchlocker fave Driller Killer. But the more likely reason is that Melanie Griffith just can't keep her clothes on. Someone's stalking the strippers of Times Square and ventilating their supple bodies with scissors, razors, or most anything that'll butcher flesh. Nicky (Jack Scalia) and Rossi (Tom Berenger) pimp dancers through their Starlite Talent Agency and aren't thrilled about their girls getting mangled. Rossi is a former boxer who's still smarting from being tossed out of the romance ring by the lovely Loretta (Griffith). She's an, um, erotic entertainer who's recently kicked her heroin habit, as she's become very distracted by her new-found bisexuality with Leila (Rae Dawn Chong). Meanwhile, this creep keeps scampering around town lopping off dancer body parts. Billy Dee Williams arrives to help as a cop named Wheeler who likes to call everyone politically incorrect names a bit more than actually DOING any real police work. Instead, he lets Rossi root out the killer, who turns out to be this walking Ken doll who's seen way too many kung fu movies. The flick is a real mess, and we don't ever really find out WHY he's killing these babes! Maybe he's seen their act, or perhaps he REALLY IS a frustrated writer just looking for ideas for his novel -- Fear City. 21 breasts. 10 corpses. Lesbian back rub. Fingers tumble. Gratuitous urination. Wall punching. Interrogation scene with spotlight. Gratuitous mob machine-gun hit. Wheeler believes in strip-club cleanliness, "I'll close your business if you don't keep p@#%& off the bar!"

1984, 95 minutes, Widescreen (1.85:1), Trailer.